A variety of integrated circuits (ICs) including, for example, RF power amplifier (PA) ICs, employ on-chip capacitors and inductors to isolate bias signals (e.g., a DC biasing signal) from other signals (e.g., a RF signal). Although such capacitors and inductors can provide significant levels of isolation, such capacitors and inductors also tend to be physically large components that tend to increase IC size, complicate signal routing, and require many vias extending through the semiconductor substrate of the IC (through-substrate vias). The presence of significant numbers of through-substrate vias can additionally be disadvantageous insofar as they can increase the risk of die cracking.
One increasingly important application for RF PA ICs is in the context of massive multiple input multiple output (mMIMO) front-end modules. The complexity of such front-end modules is increasing and the packaging size for such front-end modules is decreasing. Given such concerns, the implementation of conventional systems employing capacitors and inductors for the purpose of isolating bias signals from other signals is becoming increasingly difficult and at-odds with ongoing development of such front-end modules.
For at least these reasons, therefore, it would be advantageous if one or more improved systems and/or methods for isolating bias signals (e.g., DC bias signals) from other signals (e.g., RF signals) in integrated circuits, and/or one or more improved integrated circuits and/or related methods employing such improved systems and/or methods, could be developed that addressed one or more of the above-discussed concerns or one or more other concerns, and/or provided one or more other advantages.